Band Tips: 4 Reasons Why CDs Are Still Important Sales Devices

Many bands have considered dropping the CD from their product selection. CDs are extremely expensive when compared to digital downloads (which cost, let's see, just about nothing to produce).

However, this isn't a great plan. CDs are still important for independent bands and have a valuable place in securing a steady income flow at gigs and at band events. Here's why.

CDs are a physical product. That's important. A physical product is inherently more interesting to a consumer, and it gives them a kind of feeling of accomplishment when they purchase one from your band and walk away from the gig. It's something that they can look at and hold in their hands. In short, it's real, and it makes your music more important to your listener and potential new fan.

They get the listener excited for the band. A CD has art right on the cover that ideally shows the listener what the sound is going to be like. Think of how you felt when you'd picked up an album at a store back in the 90's or 2000's; the feel of the plastic slipping away from the front and the awesome art that pulled you in before you even put the disc in your CD player. Independent bands need CDs to form that same feeling of excitement in their listeners.

CDs have a value. An MP3 costs 99 cents---or $1.29 if it's popular. Some websites sell them for close to nothing, and a very large and growing number of websites offer them (illegally) for free.

A CD, on the other hand, feels valuable, and most people know that CDs cost about $10 or so. It's much easier to sell a CD to fans, because they accept the idea that it has a value. It's not something that they can just go online and "have" without paying anything.

CDs will get you played on the radio. You can email mp3s to local DJs all day, but chances are good that they won't listen to them. Many DJs despise the whole digital revolution and refuse to play mp3s, as they're compressed and can sound inadequate on the radio. Others simply prefer to get a CD in the mail for the same reason that the fans appreciate your album on disc--it's a cool, valuable physical product that gets them excited. They might also appreciate the thought that went into developing a CD for them.

Some of you might be thinking about digital download cards here. Don't they work just as well? In a word, no--many DJs don't know how to use them or consider it to be a pain. Stick with the basics; CDs are still going to be around for quite a while, and they're an important part of every band's product line.

What does your band think of CDs? Post in our comments section below.